Rizik Zacharia, the Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal state, has defended the decision of the state legislative assembly to shift Wau County headquarters to Bagari, 25 miles from the state capital. He denied that the assembly was in recess when the vote was made, as alleged by opponents of the plan.
“I was surprised that the Legislative Assembly denied passing the resolution, and considered that an escape from reality and from their responsibilities,” the governor told Radio Tamazuj in an exclusive interview. He pointed out that the Deputy Speaker was chairing the meeting at which the decision was passed.
Wau County headquarters was previously in Wau town, which also serves as the state capital. The goverment’s decision to transfer the county seat will remove the city administration from influence of the county commissioner and unify it under the recently created Wau Municipality Council.
The decision triggered the resignation of County Commissioner John Peter Miskin on 19 October, as well as youth protests last week which caused temporary closure of the road leading to the new county seat.
Some state members of parliament have distanced themselves from the decision, saying that it was not brought to the floor of the assembly for discussion. In particular, a bloc of 19 MPs representing Wau County have denied that the resolution even managed to pass, reported Voice of Hope, the Catholic FM station in Wau.
“The parliament was in recess, such a move is not by the parliament,” one state parliament member requesting anonymity told Radio Tamazuj. He said the move raised questions about what type of democracy South Sudan is practicing.
Governor Rizik defended the vote saying nothing unconstitional occurred: “The decision of moving Wau County Headquarters to Bagari area is in the spirit of the Constitution.” He insisted that the decision to move the county was passed by the state legislative assembly, to the contrary of what some members say.
In an interview broadcast Tuesday morning on Radio Tamazuj, the governor explained that the power to transfer the county headquarters derives from Article 134 of the state constitution and Article 165 of the national constitution, which gives states power to “enact laws for the establishment of a system of local government based on urban and rural councils for which they shall provide structures, composition, finance and functions.”
He argued that the law is above all, even himself, stating that a decision to cancel the transfer of the headquarters would mean canceling the state constitution itself.
Tension among state politicians remains high. A number of community leaders are also involved. Last Saturday community leaders opposing the plan formed a committee of nine youths and six MPs to meet the government this week to discuss the issue.
See also: Western Bahr El Ghazal politician resigns in protest (Radio Tamazuj, 21 October 2012)
Photo by Gurtong Media: Governor Rizik Zacharia (left) during a visit by President Kiir in late 2011